The Industry revolution 4.0 taking place today is not only about technology and digitalisation, but it also concerns people, skills and relations.

Industry 4.0 should succeed through a holistic approach in order to prevent future skills shortage. Collaboration, with both humans and machines, is a must in digital and machine learning. As it is mentioned in the article from World Economic Forum, 4 predictions for the future of work, “there will not be a shortage of jobs in the future, but rather a shortage of skills to fill the jobs”. We should keep in mind that “it’s no longer a matter of human versus machine, but rather human and machine working in tandem to solve the world’s problems”. Individuals and organizations will have to learn how to become more flexible and more willing to accept change. Jobs are turning more like “life itself: a series of unpredictable, fluid experiences rather than a tightly scripted narrative”.

During the Innovation Festival held in Padua last week, it became apparent the central role of Soft Skills in the future. Every year the University of Padua, one of the oldest in the world, organizes the Galileo Innovation Festival: a national reference point for dialogue between large, medium and small companies, research centers, institutions, the word of education, young and innovators. In this context, it was emphasized that the necessary shift towards 4.0 transformation means, both for manager and employees, to leave their comfort zone, to change their habits and established practices.

As a result, VET should develop new didactic models and validation system, as well as implanting new training for trainers, that will take into account soft skills. This particular point is of importance to the ‘future-assurance’ of VET systems as it influences the ability of the VET system to educate and train people to actively adapt to change and efficiently face the Industry 4.0 revolution.

To learn more about the future of work and the skills we need to thrive in the Fourth Industrial Revolution: